Attendees listen to veteran retain consultant Barbara Crowhurst at last month’s Resilient Retailer event.
Roughly thirty people attended the Resilient Retailer event hosted by Cavan Monaghan and Peterborough County Economic Development staff and Peterborough Community Futures at the CMCC last month.
The event featured an extensive presentation by veteran retail consultant Barbara Crowhurst who provided comprehensive and specific recommendations to retailers to help them boost their profitability and relevance in a challenging retail environment.
One of the prevailing themes in the presentation was the power of data. Crowhurst reinforced the importance of basing decisions on facts rather than feelings or intuition. To do this, retailers should collect and review data about their stores every day. She suggested establishing a daily performance target including the number of customers, the total sales count and the total sales value for each day. It might even include the volume of sales of specific items such as sales merchandise or featured inventory. Customer counts should be conducted each day, including the time of day they arrived and the number of customers who actually purchased something. This data can reveal trends in traffic, product popularity and the effectiveness of displays which can help make better purchasing, scheduling and staffing decisions.
She suggested providing daily goals to staff to give them a sense of purpose and keep them focused. They could include specific sales targets as well as housekeeping and inventory maintenance duties. Having specific personal goals each day discourages personal phone use during work hours. The store floor should be viewed as a teaching environment where feedback is immediate and coaching is specific and personal.
Crowhurst provided specific suggestions on how to engage with customers without crowding them. She suggested using surveys to secure customer feedback about displays and products to help build loyalty. Bounce back discounts, loyalty support and even punch cards also help.
To boost profitability, retailers must understand their margins. Crowhurst suggested bundling slow-moving items with top sellers to unload stagnant inventory and make room for new arrivals. Featuring high margin products in prominent displays which are changed frequently can help keep the store feeling fresh.
She pointed out that small boutique shops cannot compete with big box stories on price or selection, so they have to differentiate themselves in a different way. She suggested focusing on personal service, in store experience and by providing a well-curated selection of products.
In a discussion about store layout Crowhurst recommended that stores have a landing spot near the entrance so shoppers can see inside and pick their route. This usually means travelling to the right, where there should be a feature wall promoting key product. Shelves and inventory should not exceed four feet in height to allow a clear view into the store. Less inventory on display shows product better than shelves and racks that are jammed with stuff. She also recommended creating visual interest with inventory displays by mixing tall and short; dark and light; soft and hard textures.
Whether in a mall or on a main street, Crowhurst believes retailers should work together to build traffic and sales with through cross-promotions but more importantly by having the same hours of business. Major malls enforce consistent operating hours with significant financial penalties for those who don’t comply.
The afternoon events were more interactive, and included a panel discussion featuring Bernadette of Millbrook Mercantile. All participants left with an extensive toolkit of ideas to customize as they build their own resilient retail outlet.